Bio‐blends of virgin and post‐industrial poly(methyl methacrylate) waste/pristine chitosan: Structure, thermal, and physical properties.

Polymer blends based on plastic waste and natural biodegradable polymers is an interesting strategy in view of environmental and technical concerns. This article investigates the structure, thermal and physical properties of virgin and post‐industrial polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) waste/pristine chitosan (Cs) bio‐blends. Waste PMMA was generated by an extrusion process for the manufacturing of sheets. The results of gel permeation chromatography analysis (GPC) show a slight decrease (about 8%) in the average molecular weight of PMMA after extrusion. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR‐ATR) spectra do not reveal changes in the chemical structure of post‐industrial PMMA/Cs blends compared to virgin PMMA/Cs samples, indicating that chain scission reactions are the dominant degradation mechanism of PMMA during processing. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results reveal a single glass transition temperature (Tg) for the blends, implying miscibility of the components. Post‐industrial PMMA/Cs samples exhibit slightly lower values of Tg compared to virgin PMMA/Cs blends. The post‐industrial PMMA waste slightly reduces nano‐mechanical properties and thermal stability of the blends relative to those from virgin PMMA. In contrast, it increases the water uptake of the bio‐blends compared with virgin PMMA. Highlights: Chain scission is the dominant degradation mechanism of PMMA during extrusion.Miscibility between the homopolymers within the blends.PMMA waste slightly reduced the nano‐mechanical properties of the bio‐blends.Post‐industrial PMMA waste increased the water uptake of the bio‐blends.Possibility of using post‐industrial PMMA waste by blending with chitosan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]